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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27044548">Ludectrophobia</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ketenn/pseuds/Prompt%20Cheese'>Prompt Cheese (Ketenn)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Very Gabenath Halloween [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gabenath B&amp;A Club Halloween Prompt, Gabriel Tries, Humor, Maybe a little OOC, Swearing (French), Video &amp; Computer Games, rated it T solely because of that</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:14:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,424</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27044548</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ketenn/pseuds/Prompt%20Cheese</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"It’s going to be so much fun!"<br/>Gabriel had different ideas of fun, but that was not an acceptable answer.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Very Gabenath Halloween [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969936</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>GNBCAAC Halloween 2020 Prompts</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ludectrophobia</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thanks again to my friend, Diring, for doing a swift proofreading on this one, so that I wouldn't jump the gun like a few days ago.</p><p>The prompt was "Adrien teaches Gabriel how to play one of his favorite horror games." I tweaked it a little.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>It’s going to be so much fun!</em>
</p><p>Gabriel had different ideas of fun, but that was <em>not</em> an acceptable answer.</p><p>Nathalie pointed out that he should pay more attention to Adrien’s interests and not just to his after-school activities. And here he was now, sitting in a dark room, the stereo sound surrounding him with sinister music, as he fulfilled his duties as a father.</p><p>His question about Adrien’s hobbies during the dinner Nathalie had arranged first incited downcast eyes from his son and a hardly audible “I’m sure you wouldn’t like it.” But Gabriel insisted and Adrien soon opened up and admitted that it was a horror game.</p><p>Gabriel tried his best to keep the conversation going, despite his lack of knowledge and overall interest. His only handrails were the memories of the movie scripts Emilie received and ultimately rejected, but the information he gathered this way was enough to make Adrien’s face brighten, and Gabriel considered that a victory.</p><p>Then Adrien’s fork clattered against the plate as a sudden idea hit him and proposed to show the game instead of telling about it. The silverware almost slipped from Gabriel’s hands too. But he got this far in the conversation, and Adrien’s undisguised happiness filled his chest with a warm feeling he remembered only from years ago.</p><p>But as soon as he closed the atelier’s door and laid his back against it, the comforting feeling was gone.</p><p>“How did it go, Monsieur?”</p><p>Nathalie sat behind her desk, arranging some documents in a folder. She was so alarmed by the manner of his entry that she forgot the hand she was resting on the papers and put the other half of the stack on it.</p><p>“It went better than I expected.” He rubbed his forehead. “But Adrien wants to show me his favourite game.”</p><p>Nathalie’s expression darkened. So she knew.</p><p>“Would you like me to accompany you, Monsieur?”</p><p>He didn’t know that such a simple proposition could release so much stress at once. He was forever grateful for her ability to keep her mind on everything, even the people around her.</p><p>“I would appreciate that,” he muttered.</p><p>Adrien was already waiting for them in his room’s door. His eyes widened and he grinned when he spotted Nathalie.</p><p>“Are you going to join us too, Nathalie?”</p><p>“Yes. I might need Monsieur Agreste’s advice on some e-mails that need sending.” Nathalie’s matter-of-fact tone rang with cacophony in Gabriel’s ears, even if he knew that she just found the perfect excuse for her presence.</p><p>Adrien didn’t seem nearly as baffled by her answer as Gabriel felt and dragged both of them into the room.</p><p>He already darkened the room and booted up his game, so the only source of light was the left half of the television’s screen, namely a torch lighting up a wall and the game’s title.</p><p>“Amnesia,” Gabriel read out loud. Adrien must have thought it a question and eagerly elaborated.</p><p>“Yes, it’s a psychological horror! The main character made himself forget everything and now he is sneaking around in a castle filled with monsters, and learning bit by bit what he wanted to forget.”</p><p>“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of his wish to forget everything?”</p><p>Adrien blinked.</p><p>“Monsieur, the e-mail about Aline Authier’s broken leg?” interrupted Nathalie.</p><p>Gabriel looked at the tablet she handed to him. She never asked his opinion on what she wrote, but now he read through it anyway. He was painfully aware of why she shoved the tablet into his face. When he nodded in agreement and looked back at Adrien, the boy giggled and took the controller from the side.</p><p>“It’s going to be so much fun!”</p><p>With the game started, the dark and eerie music filling the room, and with what remained of the daylight trapped outside, it mattered little that Gabriel was sitting on a comfortable couch between Adrien and Nathalie. A new rush of fear pulsed through his very being and he could push it back only by looking down to the faint light of the tablet and how Nathalie kept swiftly tapping on it.</p><p>He was Hawkmoth. Paris feared him and he feared nothing.</p><p>As Adrien manoeuvred the main character through the sewers, he detailed the story and the terminology of the game. Which could have broken the immersion somewhat, were he not whispering instead of talking on proper volume. Sometimes Adrien stopped his explanation only when he sneaked past a monster. While he was concentrating, Gabriel glanced down at Nathalie’s tablet, seeking to catch something from his comfort zone.</p><p>But she already sent the e-mails and now she was comparing kitchen appliance prices. She was actively avoiding looking at the game! He grabbed her wrist tightly, to make her aware of her <em>betrayal</em> and she only had to stare at him to understand, and to darken the screen.</p><p>Which made things even worse.</p><p>Adrien was now commenting his actions, his voice was even lower than before. Then there was a loud grunt, which felt like it came from behind the sofa, the screen shook and blurred and Gabriel was not sure if it was his vision, or the game.</p><p>Adrien had the main character running now and when he scrolled to turn back from the door the monster was there and Adrien tapped a button and the character closed the door.</p><p>“<em>MERDE!</em>” Gabriel shouted exactly when Adrien cried “<em>In your face!</em>”, causing the boy to bring up the menu and look at him with wide eyes and mouth slightly open in surprise.</p><p>Gabriel looked at Nathalie, hoping that her always stoic expression would bring him back to reality and somehow make him forget this awful game, but she looked just as shocked as Adrien.</p><p>“Nathalie, with me,” he ordered and stood up.</p><p>“Would you like to go, <em>Père</em>?”</p><p>But Gabriel didn’t listen.</p><p>“<em>With me!</em>” he barked and Nathalie jumped up.</p><p>With a hand against her shoulder, he urged her to move quickly and shut the door behind them maybe with a little too much force. Unfortunately, the atrium was already dark, since the staff left for the night and turned the lights off.</p><p>“What was that?” Nathalie whispered.</p><p>“From now on, we’ll supervise the games he buys.”</p><p>“Gabriel, no!” she said sharply.</p><p>“Have you seen that game? Have you <em>heard</em> it?”</p><p>“I did.”</p><p>“We can’t let our son play distasteful games like this.”</p><p>Nathalie opened her mouth to speak, but closed it, only to open it again. It looked like her own withheld words were suffocating her. What was going on with her?</p><p>“<em>Monsieur</em>,” she sighed, putting massive emphasis on that one word. “I understand where you’re coming from. But I don’t think this game is harmful to Adrien if he’s not laying sleepless in his bed from fear and if he’s not thinking too much about it.”</p><p>“And that <em>disgusting</em> monster’s swearing?”</p><p>She put her hands on his arm and looked deep into his eyes.</p><p>“This is an old game and Adrien had played it several times already. Yet he’s not cursing, is he?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“No.” she repeated vigorously. “Most children his age curse like sailors. Adrien is an exceptionally good boy and I find it unbelievable that you can’t see it.”</p><p>“So you think we don’t have to intervene?”</p><p>“Exactly.” Her expression softened. “This afternoon is very important to him. It’s not easy to talk about your hobbies to someone who you know would brand it a waste of time. But he had the courage to do it. And you made him so happy by playing along.” She stopped, but he felt that her silence was only so that her words could sink in. So he kept quiet too, waiting for her to continue. “I can’t tell you to go back, because I don’t have the right. But if you’re interested in my advice—”</p><p>“I’ll do it,” he sighed and led a hand through his hair.</p><p>Her small, grateful smile widened when he pushed the door in and held it open for her.</p><p>Upon their return, Adrien sheepishly searched their expression and smiled slightly when they sat back on the sofa.</p><p>“You forgot something, <em>Père</em>?” he asked carefully.</p><p>“Yes. But it’s alright now, thanks to Nathalie thinking instead of me.”</p><p>Nathalie almost dropped the tablet at the sudden gratitude. Gabriel turned towards his son and tried to give him the warmest – and probably most awkward – smile he could, using the pure happiness on Adrien’s face as a crutch.</p><p>“Now, where were we? I’m interested in how you’ll deal with this Alexander.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A small disclaimer: Adrien's use of the door in the game was not made up by me. I saw a Let's player, Gopher do it in his surprise and I'm happy that after so many years, I could include that hysterical memory in something fun.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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